Over the weekend,
we had a small shindig at my in-laws place.
My old friend Sloppy (sophorn) shot up to join the festivities.
What better way to cruise the PCH!
He had just gotten this thing tuned up,
or at least reliable enough to get back on the road.
After many years with a newer electric-start sportster,
he dug up this real deal 70's chopper,
with a good old "knee-blower" kick-start ironhead.
The engine is ran off a magneto,
and the accessory electrics off the generator.
We'll get to that later.
Sloppy said he'll ride this thing no-hands on the freeway!
It's cool to see how things were done back in the day.
The 70's made some marginally cool hot rods,
cause everyone with style was doing choppers!
I love the front end and the molded raked frame.
That little front brake too!
While another friend Danny and I checked the bike out,
Sloppy had mentioned his lights weren't reliable.
He thought it was that hot wire connection,
the one above the peace sign.
Now looking at these pictures,
it's kinda obvious what the problem was,
in the day time anyway!
Of course we decided to fix it right before he left!
With the engine not running,
there's no way to check if the lights work.
It takes a ton of dedication for a 130 lb guy to kickstart this beast!
After a couple kicks the engine started,
and yep,
all the lights were dead.
*******************************************
*******************************************
After that was buttoned up,
Sloppy saw a broken field wire connection.
Really obvious in that above picture,
not so much in the dark.
After some quick stitching,
the problem was solved.
We were happy to hear that he made it back home no problems.
Next time I've got to take more people pictures!
TP
we had a small shindig at my in-laws place.
My old friend Sloppy (sophorn) shot up to join the festivities.
 |
| sloppy's ironhead chopper |
What better way to cruise the PCH!
He had just gotten this thing tuned up,
or at least reliable enough to get back on the road.
 |
| 1969 harley xlch ironhead sportster w/magneto |
After many years with a newer electric-start sportster,
he dug up this real deal 70's chopper,
with a good old "knee-blower" kick-start ironhead.
 |
| traditional rearend |
The engine is ran off a magneto,
and the accessory electrics off the generator.
We'll get to that later.
 |
| sloppy's ironhead chopper |
Sloppy said he'll ride this thing no-hands on the freeway!
 |
| controls |
It's cool to see how things were done back in the day.
The 70's made some marginally cool hot rods,
cause everyone with style was doing choppers!
 |
| smooth |
I love the front end and the molded raked frame.
That little front brake too!
 |
| holey chit |
While another friend Danny and I checked the bike out,
Sloppy had mentioned his lights weren't reliable.
He thought it was that hot wire connection,
the one above the peace sign.
 |
| peace! |
Now looking at these pictures,
it's kinda obvious what the problem was,
in the day time anyway!
 |
| molded |
Of course we decided to fix it right before he left!
With the engine not running,
there's no way to check if the lights work.
It takes a ton of dedication for a 130 lb guy to kickstart this beast!
After a couple kicks the engine started,
and yep,
all the lights were dead.
 |
| kickstart |
*******************************************
I had to edit this cause I forgot to do the oldies month install!
So for #11 or whatever it's up to now...
Etta James - I'd rather go blind.
This is what Sloppy's BSA chopper was thinking now that the sportster is on the road!
*******************************************
Using a little one LED keychain flashlight,
one step sideways to a 34 watt light bulb,
we began to troubleshoot the electrical system.
The regulator was flopping around,
so we figured that was a good place to start.
After that was buttoned up,
Sloppy saw a broken field wire connection.
Really obvious in that above picture,
not so much in the dark.
 |
| culprit |
After some quick stitching,
the problem was solved.
 |
| alive! |
We were happy to hear that he made it back home no problems.
Next time I've got to take more people pictures!
TP
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